ABIGAIL SPRAGUE BRADFORD

ABIGAIL SPRAGUE BRADFORD

ABIGAIL SPRAGUE BRADFORD

Abigail Sprague was born 14 Aug. 1812 at Sempronius Township, Cayuga Co., New York. She was the daughter of Abigail Jeffers and Hezekiah Sprague. After living in various places in the East the Sprague family moved West in about 1822 to Indiana. (For more detail see life of Hezekiah Sprague)

On Aug. 21, 1830, Abigail married Je Hial Bradford at Vevay, Indiana. They were married by Wm. R Wiley, justice of peace. The couple were farmers as were most of the people there on the fertile lands near the Ohio river.

Abigail, with her husband, her parents, and brothers, Ithamer, Henry and Gad with their wives, and her sister, Statira, all joined the Church about the same time. (Abigail in a letter to her sister, Electa says it was about the year 1839. (Church records indicate she and Je Hial were baptized, Feb. 2, 1841, at Cotton Township, Switzerland Co. Indiana.) According to Abigail’s letter to her niece, Francine Lindsley, written Nov. 22, 1874, they moved to Nauvoo, Ill. In 1841 to be near the Church. Here Hial bought a farm 6 miles South of Nauvoo on the Mississippi river. Later he bought another farm from a neighbor and they began to prosper. Here their son Pleasant was born.

Abigail received her patriarchal blessing from Hyrum Smith on Nov. 12 1841.

One time Abigail and Hial were taking their son Rawsel to a Physician, with a bad wrist, fearing that his arm would have to be amputated. On the way, they met the Prophet Joseph Smith he ask them where they were going and they told him where and why. Joseph examined Rawsel’s wrist and told them to go back home and he promised them his wrist would be well and strong, and it was. Another time, Hyrum Smith told her that she would gain a knowledge of God that would be comfort to her heart. These blessings increased her faith and gave her courage to carry on through later trials.

They with their children, Mary Ann 13 yrs. old, Rawsel almost 11, Granvill 7 yrs., Sylvester nearly 5, Pleasant 16 months old, along with thousands of others, on 29 June, 1844 filed past the bodies of the martyrs, Joseph and Hyrum Smith as they lay in state in Nauvoo, Ill.

Abigail lost her husband in the week of Aug. 24, 1845, and her daughter Tryphena was born a short time later, 30 Sept. 1845. On Oct. 2, 1845 her little son Granvill died, he as 8 years old.

As Abigail prepared to go West with the Saints, Hial’s brothers offered to take care of Abigail and her children. When she would not stay they tried to get her to leave the children with them. They told her they would educate them and give them every opportunity, rather than have them face the danger of being massacred by Indians in a new country. Abigail was grateful for their kindness and concern and always spoke highly of them. But since her husband, Hial was the only member of his family to join the Church, this meant that they would bring her children up outside the faith, so she refused their kind offer.

Abigail sold her two farms, two thousand bushels of corn, (two cribs full), her home and furnishings, and live stock for two wagons, one badly worn, a plow and some other implements, seed for future planting and two teams of oxen and one cow. (The Saints in preparing to leave Nauvoo were cheated like this, but they had no choice)

Temple ordinances in the Nauvoo Temple began early in December 1845. This was a time of great danger and persecution and it was necessary to guard the Temple. The Saints felt a deep sense of urgency to receive their temple blessings. Brigham Young devoted himself entirely to the Lord, remaining in the temple night and day and no. sleeping more than four hours at night. President Young and other apostles performed the ordinances with endowments being given priority over sealings. Abigail came to the temple alone to receive her endowment on January 21. 1846. Everyone knew as the month of January 1846 drew to a close that the Nauvoo Temple would probably be closing forever. One week later the last endowments were performed on February 7, 1846, and the temple doors were shut

Abigail’s sister, Statira, buried her husband in Nauvoo a year after they moved to Nauvoo, and remarried a man named Glines 1845 and they did not accompany the saints West.

The Saints had hoped to remain in their homes until spring, but as the violence of the mobs increased, the great exodus of the Mormon people began. Abigail’s wagons were loaded with clothing, provisions, her plow, other farm implements and seed for planting. She was ferried across the Mississippi River and joined he camps of Israel.

One time after leaving Nauvoo, Brigham Young came to Abigail’s wagon and found her crying. He said, “What’s the matter Abbie?” She replied, “I’m afraid this wagon will never take us to the valley of the mountains, the spokes are so loose.” Brigham told her if she did the best she could it would hold up.

There were with her as she joined the camp of Israel, on the way west from Nauvoo in the early Spring of 1846, her five children, Mary Ann 15, Rawsel 13, Sylvester 6, Pleasant 3, and Tryphena 1 1/2, also her father Hezekiah Sprague, her mother Abigail, brothers Ithamer, Gad and Henry, with their families. (See Life of Hezekiah Sprague)

Abigail's brother. Ithamer. was forced to stop for the winter at Mount Pisgah one of the permanent camps selected by Parley P. Pratt. That cold winter Ithamer buried his wife, Elizabeth, and all five of his children. Ithamer made the rest of the journey alone. Abigail's brother, Henry, his wife and two children decided to settle near Burlington, Iowa. Henry had lost his cattle on the way and got a few days behind the company. He never went any further west. According to Abigail’s letters, he and his family were living in Burlington, Iowa, in 1855. Gad and his family turned and went back to Indiana.

Abigail continued on to Nebraska and Winter Quarters. The winter of 1846-47 was bitter and cold and over 600 people died. Abigail's mother died on January 22. 1847 at Winter Quarters and sadly they buried her.

As the Saints prepared to leave Winter Quarters. Abigail insisted on going and once again her wagon wheels began to roll west. Abigail traveled in Bishop Hunter's Company of one hundred wagons. Captain Home's Company of fifty wagons, and Captain Archibald Gardner's company often wagons.

The "Old Sow", a gun used in the War of 1812, was pulled across the plains from Winter Quarters to Salt Lake Valley by Abigail. Her son, Sylvester, and his two companions, Al Babcock and Wiley Thomas, took turns riding this gun during their journey to Utah. In the War of 1812, this gun was one of the best in America. It occupied a position on a boat stationed at New Orleans as part of the defense against England's second invasion of this nation. The "Old Sow" and others of its class were moved to the rear and from active duty. It was fired each morning at sunup and each evening at sunset. After thus being used for a number of years, the gun was discarded and sold for scrap iron. It was purchased by James Lawson, an old veteran blacksmith. After the gun was purchased, it was first shipped to Mount Pisgah, then to Nauvoo, Illinois. After an anti-Mormon invasion, the gun was left on the field. A group of Mormon women sank a hole in the ground and buried the old standby for preservation. Sometime later some pigs feeding upon the field uncovered the gun and henceforth the gun has been known by the name "Old Sow."

In the fall of 1846 the gun was taken from Nauvoo across the Mississippi River and to Winter Quarters by Major Howard Egan. The Missouri River was frozen over, so a hole was cut through the ice, a rope was attached to the gun and it was lowered to the bottom of the river to keep it from falling into the hands of the Mormon enemies.

In the Spring of 1847 the Old Sow was brought out of its watery hiding place and pulled across the plains by Abigail Bradford. It was intended to be used against any hostile Indians, if necessary, but it was never used. The Old Sow was used to fire salutes for celebrations in Salt Lake City. Finally it was placed on display at the museum west of Temple Square.

When one of her oxen died she hitched “Old Lil”, the milk cow it its place. Each morning, the milk left over from breakfast was poured into the churn and each night a pat of butter was taken out, the jolting of the wagon did the churning. (I question this story. You don’t make butter out of milk, it must be cream, at least that was the way it was when I was a child and used to churn butter. D.H.B.)

As Abigail and her family reached the mouth of Emigration Canyon and looked upon the “Valley” the wheel of her old wagon broke and the whole wagon gave way, but it had brought her, in answer to her prayers and the promise of Brigham Young to “Zion”.

So, on October 1, 1847, just two months behind the first company of pioneers, Abigail Sprague Bradford came into the Salt Lake Valley with her 5 children and her father, thus she and her children were the first of the Bradford’s to arrive in Utah.

Upon reaching Salt Lake, Abigail and her children lived in an earthen dugout. The hardships and hunger of that first winter in the valley were severe. Her father died during that first winter. Eating the roots of the sego lily helped sustain them through the winter. In the spring they planted crops only to be devoured by black hordes of crickets. They irrigated the land, replanted, and raised enough grain for bread. She joined in building what was later known as the "Old Fort" of adobes. Her oldest children, Mary Ann and Rawsel, helped make the adobes which went into their first home in the valley. The adobes were molded of clay and straw or grasses in wooden boxes a foot long.

As time went on, Mary Ann became a great admirer of Archibald Gardner. When he asked her to become his plural wife she gladly accepted. They went to President Young to have him perform the ceremony. He said, “where is the mother? I want you to marry her and be a father to her family. Archie, your shoulders are broad, and you must help carry the burden”. So Abigail Bradford and her daughter Mary Ann married Archibald Gardner on the 19th of April 1849. From this union Abigail had one more child, a daughter, she named after herself Abigail Lillian Gardner born April, 26 1850. Her daughter Mary Ann had (? 7 or 9) children 2 of them died very young. Mary Ann died in 1862.

At the time when Johnston’s army was coming Abigail went to Spanish Fork with the rest of the Gardner family, and sometime in 1853 she moved to West Jordan. Her daughter Abby taught school in Spanish Fork a season. Her sons, Sylvester and Pleasant, bought farms at Spanish Fork near the river, and their sister Tryphena kept house for them there.

Abigail was of genial disposition, of medium stature, but very heavy, at one time weighing 240 lbs. She learned the Indian language, made friends with them and was able to be of great service when Indian trouble arose. On different occasions she sat in their circles and smoked the pipe of peace with them, a solemn pledge between white and the red men, long remembered and generally respected. She also had a corncob pipe of her own which she occasionally indulged in.

A little Indian girl named Fanny, was given to her by her brother Ithamer Sprague. It seems the child had been stolen from her home by a warring tribe who sold her to Ithamer for a pony. Fanny’s brother Muchikee, came to see her at different times in later years, but she did not want to go back to her own people. Fanny lived with Abigail and the Gardners until she married.

Abigail was a great story teller and took delight in telling tales of witches and fairies to the children. She suffered for a number of years with breast cancer, after being operated on it ceased to trouble her. The last 9 years of her life she spent with another of Gardner’s wives. Through all her trials and hardships she never once lost faith in the gospel. She lived its precepts and taught its precious truths to her children and her grand-children. Abigail died 16 Jan. 1879, in her sixty-sixth year, at West Jordan, Utah and is buried in the Salt Lake City cemetery. She died not of cancer but from excessive fat around her heart.

(Compiled by Lavon Bradford Jones from writings of Della B. Creer and other Bradfords. And given to me by Jenny B. Terry. Also from memories of Abigail’s grandson, Charles U. Bradford and from two letters written by Abigail in 1861 and 1874 and excerpts from the book “Life of Archibald Gardner.” With a little editing and a few comments by Donald H. Bradford)

Abigail Sprague Bradford Gardner